Concert Music

When pianist Vera Anselmo, who trained at Juilliard and Mannes School of Music, started giving piano and music lessons at local schools in Manhattan’s Upper West Side and Harlem in 2001, she did not realize the potential impact her 'Piano School of New York City' would make over the years. But her passion to bring the gift of music to all had always been her driving force.

Theremin virtuosa Carolina Eyck and avant-garde vocalist Theo Bleckmann were at their inventive best in separate sets at (le) poisson rouge in NYC.

The pianist's new album is a superb survey of some of the most distinctive music by a composer who is today well remembered and valued by musicians and composers, but heard by audiences too seldom.

Rock band Gin Blossoms delivered with their old hits and some new tracks from their latest album, 'Mixed Reality.'

We're fortunate these neglected composers of the New Jewish National School have found worthy champions.

Kiefer Sutherland fans will enjoy seeing the 'Designated Survivor' and '24' actor on tour in advance of his new album.

The music of the Fête Galante-era composers like Jean-Marie Leclair counteracted the grand style of their predecessors, just as Watteau's paintings of regular people enjoying simple pleasures in the outdoors contrasted with the heavy subject matter of the art he'd grown up with.

"With the rise of worldwide anti-Semitism, it has been difficult for me to program Jewish works. I remember a certain recital when I was asked to remove a suite of pieces by Ernest Bloch for fear of audience distaste."

The musicians make technique seem invisible on this wonderful new recording, with Amit Peled playing Pablo Casals's cello in two of the greatest works of the Romantic era.

The contemporary folk music scene and the Early Music scene intersect more than you might think. The Early Music ensemble Tenet proved it decisively with this program, demonstrating such sublime musicianship that I hope they preserve it for future concerts and in a recording studio.